


Difficult to Give

by KieraElieson



Series: Trust is Difficult to Give (but Easily Broken) [1]
Category: Sanders Sides, Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, But only for a little bit in one chapter, Cages, Deceit is mentioned, Fluff, Gen, Human AU, Hurt/Comfort a bit, Hybrid AU, Hybrids, Logan is a hybrid, Patton tries his best, Pets, Unsympathetic Deceit Sanders, Virgil is a hybrid, but doesn’t always know what he’s doing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:39:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21522307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KieraElieson/pseuds/KieraElieson
Summary: Logan and Virgil are hybrids, but they aren’t wanted. So they sit, alone, in a pet shop until Patton finds them.But it’s difficult to give trust to a human, even one as kind as Patton.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Platonic Analogical
Series: Trust is Difficult to Give (but Easily Broken) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551208
Comments: 89
Kudos: 293





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Queen_Whovian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Whovian/gifts).



> I got inspired to start writing this by reading Stray Hearts Are Subject to Change. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s really good!
> 
> To avoid spoilers, a description of the AU is in the end note, but I will tell you now that hybrids are pretty tiny. 
> 
> Also, I intend to update on Fridays, and give myself an actual schedule for once.

Failure. 

The word had been thrown at him so many times it had lost its meaning, but not, unfortunately, its sting. 

The process had failed, but somehow he was the failure.

Somehow he lacked the change of instincts that made the hybrids less than human, even though all of his physical aspects had been hybridized successfully. He was small, and had been told that he was cute, though that seemed demeaning, but he was not like a cat in any way other than extra physical characteristics. 

So now he was in the back of the store, in a bare, hard, plastic cage, with a heavily marked down price, and a warning written in his papers. 

  * •^*^••



He was supposed to small, cute, trusting, and vulnerable. And he was! But the vulnerability part was so large, it was for all of the hybrids, but somehow they didn’t seem to see it that way. But he knew. Knew how easy it would be, had already been, for humans to hurt him. How easily he could die. 

And so, even when he knew it made them never pick him, he huddled in the back of his cage and cringed away from the hands that were reached out to him. 

Eventually, he was thrown into a box closest to the back, his price marked down, and a warning written in his papers. 

  * •^*^••



The humans had dropped another hybrid into his cage. It was smaller than he was, and seemed several years younger. It was also a cat hybrid, and had dark, almost black fur. 

Logan waited until the humans had left the store for the night. He tapped softly on the floor of the cage to alert the other hybrid in a less jarring way before he spoke. 

“Excuse me,” he said. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he began that way, except that it might be because he did feel like he was interrupting in a way. Although, interrupting what looked like a very long crying session couldn’t be a bad thing. 

The other hybrid just jammed his head farther into his knees, the shaking in his shoulders doubling. 

“Are you alright?” Logan asked. 

The hybrid shook his head, still buried in his knees. 

Logan considered for a moment. The humans hadn’t given him a second blanket, and as much as he didn’t want to part with it, it was very possible that it could help the other hybrid. He considered the possibility of sharing it, as that was probably what the humans had intended, but he didn’t think that the other hybrid would be ok with being touched. 

Logan took the blanket off of his shoulders and held it out. “Would you like the blanket? I’ll give it to you.”

The hybrid lifted his head, and his face, rather than being red and tear stained, was pale. He wasn’t so much upset then, as scared. He looked between Logan and the blanket several times, and then accepted it. 

Logan gave him a small smile, then curled up in the farthest corner. It wasn’t really far, just stretching out he could easily touch the other hybrid, but it might help him calm down to have the little extra space Logan could give. 

The other hybrid didn’t say anything for a whole day, and Logan let him be silent, also not speaking. But, as the chill began to set in the next night, he lifted the blanket away from himself. “Do-do you want to s-share?”

Logan smiled. “I would.”

He slid in next to the other hybrid, at first intent on keeping his hands to himself, and not touching any more than he had to. But after half an hour, the other hybrid pressed closer, curling into Logan’s side. 

For the first time, he thought that he understood what made hybrids appealing to humans. A sense of protectiveness was flooding his whole being, and he didn’t know if he would ever be ok with letting this hybrid go. Even though he didn’t know anything about him, not even his name, the trust placed in him made Logan’s heart soar. 

  * •^*^••



“Aww!” The human woman said, coming quickly towards their cage. The other hybrid stiffened, and Logan set him into the corner, standing in front of him protectively. 

The woman opened the cage and reached in. Logan scratched at her hand. “No! Leave him alone! He doesn’t want to see you.” He said as firmly as he could. 

The woman jerked her hand back, frowned, and called an employee over. The employee tried to explain to her that the two of them were rejects, but the woman was insistent. 

The employee put on a pair of oven mitts, and Logan seethed. With the mitts on, and the short reach of Logan’s arms, he couldn’t scratch at the employee, and nothing he said ever made a difference anyway. 

The employee grabbed Logan, despite his fighting, and pulled him out, putting him into an empty carrier nearby. 

“How dare you! Disgusting people! Leave him alone!” Logan yelled. 

The other hybrid was pressed into the corner, shrinking away from the woman as she cooed at him. When she leaned in and tried to pick him up he screamed, and bit her hand. The woman let out a surprised cry, and threw the other hybrid back into the cage. He scrambled back into the corner again and hissed. 

“I tried to tell you,” the employee said. 

“You did. If they’re this bad why don’t you just put them down already?”

The words smacked into Logan, and he shut his mouth, shrinking back from the door to the carrier. 

“That would be against policy, Ma’am,” the employee said, still in the tired voice he always used.

The woman huffed. “I want compensation. The mongrel bit me, it could have rabies!”

“It does not have rabies, ma’am, we vaccinate all our hybrids. We have a first aid kit under the counter. I’d be happy to help you, and to ensure that you make it to the hospital if that is needed.”

The employee dropped the whole carrier into the cage and closed the cage door before walking off with the woman. 

Logan peeked through the holes in the side of the carrier. The other hybrid was laying in the floor, on his side, hyperventilating. 

“Hey, hey, look at me.” Logan said softly, reaching his hand through the bars in the door to tap on the floor in an effort to gain the hybrid’s attention. 

He slid his eyes to look at Logan’s hand, if not his face, and Logan was happy to take a small win. “Listen, I need you to breathe with me, and I’ll count out the time, ok? Ready, we’ll breathe in, 2, 3, 4. And hold it, 2, 3, 4,”

The hybrid was trying to follow, but struggling. 

“It’s ok, it’s ok. We’ll try again. I’ll count. If you can’t get it this time we’ll try again. Breathe in.”

Slowly, the hybrid was able to get control of his breathing. Logan kept counting until his breathing was steady, and after that kept tapping with his hand. 

“Thank you,” the hybrid croaked. 

Logan gave a soft smile. “You’re welcome. And… my name’s Logan.”

“You have a name?” The hybrid said. 

Logan nodded. He glanced back out at the sliver he could see out of the cage. “If you can move it, you can position this carrier so that the humans can’t see you as easily.”

“How?”

Logan gave instructions to the other hybrid to position the carrier to block off one corner. The carrier itself wasn’t heavy, and only had to be turned, not actually moved, so the other hybrid was able to do it. 

“Well done,” Logan said. “Now you can hide back there if you want.”

The hybrid did so. 

“Thank you,” the hybrid said again. “And I’m sorry. You got put in there because of me.”

“It was my choice,” Logan said. “But thank you for your concern.”

It was evening, and Logan was trying to find a way to lay down, or at least lean on the wall, that would allow him to sleep. 

“Logan?”

Logan couldn’t stifle the smile. No one had ever called him by his chosen name. “Yes?”

“Can I— when I was really little… I think I had a mom, and… back then, my name was Virgil.”

“You can use whatever name you like,” Logan reassured. “If you want to use Virgil, then that’s your name.”

The hybrid came out of the hiding place to the front of the carrier. He stuck his hand through. “I’m Virgil,” he said, in a stronger voice than Logan had heard him use before. 

Logan took his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Virgil. My name’s Logan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick explanation of the AU
> 
> 1  
> This is in a world in which hybrids exist. Mostly cat or dog, since they’re the most popular, but others as well. Hybrids take many of the instincts of the animal, and a few physical traits, and add it to a human. They also take away some human traits, the most notable being pride/self respect/dignity, as well as physical size. Most hybrids are between 1 ½ and 3 feet tall, or, as I like to picture it in my mind, they’re the size of the animal they came from, if it could stand up on two feet. Or roughly the size of a baby or toddler. 
> 
> 2  
> Hybrids are not seen as human, and this had been a debated subject in this world in the past, but now society as a whole firmly believes that hybrids are only slightly better than animals. The talking and feeling part is just a benefit. Many breeding facilities teach hybrids to read at least a little bit, but they do not have any kind of formal education. 
> 
> 3  
> Hybrids are expensive. The breeding/hybridization process is not guaranteed to work, and because of this it’s more difficult, and the prices get jacked up super high. Breeding facilities also keep their supplies lower than they are capable of to keep prices as high as possible. Things made for hybrids, like clothing or scaled furniture, are also considerably more expensive. Hybrids are the ‘rich man’s pet’. 
> 
> Please comment! I haven’t really posted any hybrid stories before, although I’ve loved the idea for years, and tried my hand at writing it a while ago (with not nearly as good results as this one is).
> 
> If you like this, Subscribe! There are five chapters of part one, and I intend to have three parts, so there should be plenty to look forward to!


	2. Chapter 2

  * •^*^••



**Chapter Two**

  * •^*^••



Patton spotted Roman waiting for him at their usual booth. He bounded up and sat down. “So I got the new job!” He said excitedly. 

“That’s great!” Roman said. “Which one?”

“It’s a job at a pet store. So I’ll get to play with puppies and kittens and birds, and this one has a grooming service, and they said that they’d train me, so I didn’t even need experience!”

“That sounds awesome, Pat! Do they have hybrids too?”

“They do, but you have to have a background check and be trained specially before you’re allowed to play with them.”

“Would that be a problem?” Roman asked. 

“No, it just means I won’t get to for a while.”

“Oh, well that’s fine,” Roman said, “you’re so good with animals, I’ll bet you get to be assistant manager by the end of the year.”

Patton giggled, flattered. “I don’t want that, I just want to take care of the cute little things.”

Roman smiled. “And you’ll be the best animal carer out there.”

Just then the food came out. Roman had already ordered their favorites before Patton arrived. 

“So how are you doing?” Patton asked. 

Roman shrugged. “It’s fine. I got a role in that play. It’s not the one I wanted, but who am I to turn down a role?”

“Well, if you don’t actually want to do it, maybe you shouldn’t.”

Roman looked up, and Patton hurriedly added. “You’re a really good actor, and I’m sure you’ll do great as any character, but if you don’t actually want to, maybe it isn’t the best idea? There are other plays, other people that can see how great you are at it and give you the role you’d rather play.”

Roman smiled a little sadly and reached out to squeeze Patton’s hand. “Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that… but I don’t think that other people would agree with you.”

Patton frowned. “Then they’re all blind!”

Roman laughed, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He turned back to his lunch. “So tell me more about this pet store.”

  * •^*^••



The tired employee left. He had come to tell them goodbye, that he was quitting. Logan was worried, but Virgil was nearly petrified. The tired employee had saved them so many times. If he wasn’t there, there would be another employee put in charge of them, and… honestly they had no idea what might happen. But it did seem likely that the tired employee was the reason that the store hadn’t gotten rid of them. If there was someone else, and they didn’t like them… 

“And there’s two more back here,” Logan could hear the manager saying. Soon the manager was visible, along with the newest employee. “They’re a whole different story. If you have any problems with them, let me know.”

The employee leaned over the cage and smiled at them. “Why are they so cheap? Are they really old?”

“No. They’re just as young as they look. We bought them for cheap, but didn’t realize then that they were rejects. The tall one is nasty and the dark one is deathly afraid of humans.”

“Poor things,” the new employee said, leaning over the cage again. 

Logan felt a strong inclination to hiss at him, but he knew that he couldn’t chance turning the employee against them. He did shift to hide more of Virgil from view. 

The manager moved on, and the employee followed her. 

Logan relaxed. They should be fine until the evening, when the new employee went around to feed the hybrids. 

He turned around and carefully laid a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “They’re gone now. It’s alright. Can you breathe?” 

Virgil nodded, and then grabbed Logan, burying his face into his chest. Logan wrapped his arms around Virgil. “It’s alright.”

“What if he gets mad at us?” Virgil said. “What if he separates us? What if he talks to the manager and they get rid of us? What if—what if they kill us?”

Logan pulled Virgil closer. “He won’t get mad. He seems to be a reasonable human. We can behave and he won’t get mad. He wouldn’t separate us either without reason. And he won’t have a reason to talk to the manager if we don’t give him one. There is no reason to get rid of us, much less do something like kill us.”

“What if he isn’t reasonable?” Virgil asked. 

“Then we’ll have to appeal to his emotional side. Even I can do that on occasion.”

After a minute, Logan let go of Virgil. “The store’s about to open.”

Virgil nodded. He sat down in the corner opposite Logan and put his head down in his knees. 

Logan didn’t miss the look the new employee was sending them. It was an ‘aww, so cute!’ type of look, which could be used, but was dangerous once the employee realized that they were not, in fact, as cute as he would like to think. 

  * •^*^••



Patton was really happy. Not only did he get to help with the hybrids, but he was the special caretaker of two of them. The manger had said that they were difficult, but they didn’t look difficult, just misunderstood. And the poor things only had one blanket between the two of them! They were in a teeny little bare cage when the other hybrids were all together in a big cage that had toys and fun things. 

Patton got their dinner, which was… a sandwich? Hybrids could eat human food? He was really going to have to do some research on hybrids. 

The sandwich was cut into two pieces, but they  _ were _ pretty tiny little things. Maybe they didn’t get as hungry as he would have thought. 

He brought the sandwich to their cage and opened the door. They didn’t try to come out, like some of the other hybrids did when the cage was opened. Patton set down the plate on the bottom of the cage, closer to himself, in hopes they would come closer to eat. 

“Hi there,” he said quietly. The little one did look pretty scared, and he didn’t want to make it any worse. “I’m Patton.”

A thought ran through his head. What if he could be the one that helped them get better? It worked in all the stories. Enough love and care could fix anything!

The taller hybrid grabbed the edge of the plate furthest from Patton. “Good evening.” 

Patton gasped. “You can talk?!”

The hybrid frowned and cocked his head. “It is common knowledge that hybrids are capable of speech.” He pulled on the plate to drag it away from Patton, and passed one piece of the sandwich behind him to the other hybrid. 

“I didn’t know. I think hybrids are adorable, but I haven’t seen many up close.”

The tall one’s face twisted, as if he had thought about something bad. “I suppose you haven’t touched any hybrids either, have you?”

Patton shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

The tall one glanced behind him, and then turned back to Patton. “Let’s start this off properly, then.” He held out his hand. “It is nice to meet you, Patton. My name is Logan.”

As Patton shook Logan’s hand, he realized that he was thoroughly charmed by this little hybrid. “It’s nice to meet you, Logan. So, I’ve been put in charge of you two, and I was wondering if you wanted any more—“ Patton cast around for the right word. “Things.”

Logan seemed surprised. “Well, yes. Some bedding in particular would be appreciated.”

Patton beamed, glad to be able to do something for them. “Then I’ll get some!” 

He shut the door and went into the supply room. He got two blankets and two pillows. That way he could take the old one and wash it. 

When he got back to the cage, the sandwich was completely eaten, and the plate was near the door. Patton opened the door. 

“So here’s some new bedding, and I’ll take the old one.” He reached out to take the old blanket. 

The tiny hybrid made a sudden noise, and while it wasn’t words, Patton could hear the scared ‘No!’ that it communicated. 

Logan pushed on Patton’s wrist. “Don’t take it. And move your hand away from him. Please.”

Patton pulled his hand back. “I was just going to wash it.”

“That particular blanket is… special to us.” Logan explained. “We’ve had it a long time.”

“I’d give it back once it’s clean,” Patton promised. Then he remembered. “I’m supposed to give you two a bath tonight anyway. I could wash it at the same time as I wash your clothes.”

The smaller hybrid reached out and gripped the back of Logan’s shirt. Logan clenched his jaw. 

“Can I make a request?”

“Well, sure! That’s fine. I’m supposed to be taking care of you, anyway. What is it?”

“We are capable of cleaning ourselves. Would you give us privacy while we bathe?”

Patton frowned slightly while he thought. “Well, I’d have to pull the soap down for you, since it’s up on a shelf, but the bucket we use for bathing hybrids is pretty open, it’s not like a bathroom or anything.”

“But you would be willing to let us wash ourselves, then?”

“Sure, that’s fine.”

Just then, the manager called him. “Patton?”

“Yes, I’m in here.”

She looked around the corner. “I’m just about to leave. Can you close up?”

“Sure!”

The manager smiled. “Thanks! And hey, they’re not so easy to bathe, little one screams and bites and all, so if you want to, just leave it till tomorrow and I’ll get you some help.”

“Alright. Thank you!”

The manager waved, and walked out the door. 

Patton turned back to the two hybrids. The smaller one’s face was bright red. 

“I-I won’t bite,” he said, his voice only barely audible, but clearly ashamed. 

“It’s alright, I didn’t think you were going to bite me. Why did you do it before, though?” Patton said. 

He didn’t answer, just curled into himself again. 

“He has been-“ Logan said, pausing to pick the right word. “Mistreated by humans before. It’s only natural, with that kind of background, to want to defend yourself when you’re being manhandled against your will.”

“Oh. I see.” Patton said, feeling like he understood the hybrid better now. “I’m sorry about that. I wouldn’t hurt you, though.”

“We would still prefer if you would allow us to do things for ourselves as much as possible,” Logan said. 

Patton nodded. “Then why don’t you come with me and we’ll get the bath set up.”

Patton stood up and walked into the back, holding open the door for the two hybrids.

There was a large closet, and on one side was a washing machine and dryer, and on the other was a sink and an low, wide bucket. Patton started running the water, and when it was the right temperature he stuck a little tube to the tap and ran the other end over the bucket. He pulled down two towels and the soap and handed them to Logan. Then he collected the clothes and blanket, and started them in the wash with several other things that had been collecting in the dirty basket. He got some clean clothes and set them near the bucket, and then left the hybrids alone until Logan cleared his throat to get his attention. 

“Aww, you two look so much better all clean!” Patton said. 

Logan coughed slightly, looking away. “Well, we wanted to thank you, for letting us do that on our own.”

The other hybrid nodded, but didn’t say anything. 

“You’re welcome,” Patton said, choosing not to mention how cute they looked at the moment. “Are you ready to go back home now?”

Logan nodded, and Patton went in front to open the door. 

He left them alone in their cage while he waited on the laundry to finish. The manager had advised him to save them for last, since it would take as long as the laundry would, but that was clearly not the case. Maybe he could call Roman? He felt bad about doing it while he was still on the time clock, but it wasn’t like there wasn’t anything else he was supposed to do. 

He finally compromised and decided to text Roman. 

Roman, I got to take care of hybrids tonight!

I fed them and bathed them and got them new bedding.

That’s great! 

How’d it go?

It was fun! 

They wanted to do it mostly

themselves, so I didn’t have much to do. 

I’d imagine. 

Really?

Because the manager thought that it

was going to be really hard. 

Probably the manager wanted you

to pick them up and bathe them like

puppies, yeah?

Maybe?

She didn’t give specific instructions

Most people treat hybrids more like animals

than humans. 

I thought that that was

because they have animal instincts?

Kind of? It’s a long story. Talk when you get home?

Sounds great!

  
  


Just then the washer beeped. Patton put the laundry in the dryer. It’d probably still take half an hour to be done. Soon he was bored again. 

Maybe he’d go talk to the hybrids again. 

Patton went out into the shop area, where the soft noises of sleeping animals filled the air. He peeked over to where the hybrids were. 

In the large pen, there were several piles of sleepy hybrids, with a few single ones wandering around. Over in the back corner of the store, the little hybrid was hugging Logan again. It. Was. Adorable! 

Patton walked over to their cage. “Hi, guys! The blanket is still in the dryer, but it should be ready soon.”

“Thank you, Patton.” Logan said, letting go of the other one so he could slip behind him. 

Patton sat down next to the cage and opened the door so they could talk more easily. “So, I know your name, Logan, and you both know my name, but I don’t know yours.” Patton tipped his head to the side to try and look at the other hybrid. 

There was a pause, as both Patton and Logan waited. 

“No.” The little guy said. “I don’t want to tell you my name.”

“Oh.” Patton had not expected this at all. “What am I supposed to call you then?”

The hybrid had clearly not been expecting that kind of response, and looked to Logan. 

Logan looked thoughtful, as if it were a problem, but one of a kind he liked. “A representative word… that’s not demeaning… and relatively easy to say… Anxiety.”

Patton immediately disliked the idea. It sounded mean, like a name a bully would give. But to his surprise, the other hybrid was nodding. 

“Ok. I guess I’ll call you Anxiety then.” Patton said, though he still felt unsure. 

It was soon after that Patton heard faintly the beep from the dryer. He pulled out the blanket that Logan and Anxiety wanted, which was easily identifiable, because it was the most worn down of all of them. Then he folded up and put away the clothes quickly. He gave the blanket to the two hybrids, locked up, and went home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates on Fridays! Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any!
> 
> I would LOVE to know what you thought of the chapter, or of the whole work, so please comment!
> 
> So, a question, what tags do I not have that you think I should? I’d like to tag accurately, but without having a million and one tags.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Three! Yay!
> 
> I’m working on writing chapter three of part two, btw, though it’s giving me a lot more trouble than this one did. It even made me break my loose rule of -if it isn’t a canon character it doesn’t get a name- so by then you will be introduced to two new characters.

  * •^*^••



**Chapter Three**

  * •^*^••



  
  


“Hey, Pat!” Roman said cheerfully. 

“Roman!” Patton exclaimed, clearly not expecting to see him in the pet shop. “What are you doing here?”

“Well,” Roman said, leaning against a wall. “I know I can’t just distract you from your job all day, but I did want to see if I could meet Logan and Anxiety.” 

“Ok. But I do have to be quick. There’s a stomach bug of some sort and all the puppies have been throwing up today.”

Roman grimaced in sympathy. 

Patton led him back to a corner where most of the cages were empty. The one furthest in the corner had two figures in it, and some bedding, but was startlingly bare compared to the rest of the store. 

Patton knelt in front of the cage. “Hi, kiddos, this is Roman, he’s my friend and he wanted to meet you. I’ll be back in just a little bit.” 

Patton opened the door and then left. 

The cage was on the floor, so Roman sat down in front of it. “Hi.”

The smaller of the hybrids, probably Anxiety, hid behind the other. 

“Good afternoon,” Logan said stiffly. 

Roman fiddled in his pocket and pulled out a laser pointer, flickering it on the ground between him and the cage. 

Logan glanced down at it, then looked into Roman’s face with profound disinterest. “Since you are Patton’s friend, I had assumed that you would be aware that I do not have cat like instincts.”

Roman shrugged, still flickering the laser pointer. “Patton does talk a lot about you, but I don’t think he’s quite figured that one out yet.”

Roman let his eyes flick behind Logan, and saw with satisfaction that Anxiety was watching the laser pointer. 

“And what does he say?” Logan asked, probably trying to keep Roman’s attention off of Anxiety. 

“Oh, just that he thinks you’re cute, and he adores your protective streak, and that he doesn’t understand what you have against the toys the other hybrids play with.” While speaking, Roman used the laser pointer to write out  _ hi anxiety _ . 

The tiniest of sounds from the hybrid let him know that his message had been received. He went back to flickering the light around. 

“What exactly did you come here for?” Logan asked, bristling with suspicion. 

“To play with you two.” Roman said, dropping his chin into his hand. “But it seems you don’t have much to play with.”

He knew that Logan would take it as a threat. He watched the hybrid’s face pale slightly. Anxiety was still enthralled by the laser pointer, though he hadn’t moved from behind Logan. 

Roman wrote with the pointer again.  _ Come out? _ And then he turned off the pointer. 

Anxiety looked up into his face for the first time. But Logan had also seen the message. He moved to block their line of sight. 

“You’re manipulating him. You’re taking advantage!” Logan said angrily. “You can’t do that.”

“I couldn’t with you,” Roman conceded, “but I think Anxiety enjoyed himself.” He smiled. 

Logan scowled. “I want you to leave.”

Roman shrugged, he was happy with his first meeting. “Alright. Do you know if a customer can shut the door or do I need to get Patton?”

“Customers have opened and closed the door previously.” Logan said, his voice still cold. 

Since neither of the hybrids had come near the door, they didn’t even have to move back as Roman shut it again. 

  * •^*^••



To Logan’s dismay, Virgil seemed to almost anticipate Roman’s visits. 

He couldn’t say anything against Roman, because he hadn’t hurt them, hadn’t come into their cage, hadn’t even touched either of them at all yet. But he just flaunted his knowledge of the two of them and of hybrids in general. He was manipulating Virgil, and Logan hated it. 

“Hi.” Roman said, sitting cross legged outside of the cage. “So I had a question for you, Logan.”

“What is it?”

“Can you read well?”

Logan was taken aback. He had never anticipated this to be a question asked of him. “I can.”

“Oh, good! I brought a book, but I wasn’t sure if it would be something that you’d enjoy.” Roman set a pocket-sized copy of The Art of War into the cage near Logan. 

Logan picked up the book. He could actually hold and read this. 

r

“If you have any other books you’d like in particular, I can try to get them. And since Patton is taking care of you, I don’t think that there should be any problems with you having it.”

Logan blinked down at the book. It took him a long second to reply. “Thank you.” 

Maybe… being manipulated wasn’t so bad. 

  * •^*^••



“Tonight’s a bath night!” Patton announced, opening the door. Logan and Anxiety climbed out and followed him into the laundry room. 

Once they were all clean, and the laundry was going, Patton asked, “What if we did something, instead of you just going back to the cage? It must be boring.”

“It’s much less boring now that we have books,” Logan said, still drying out his ears with the towel. 

“We could do something,” Anxiety said tentatively. 

Patton was still so thrilled that Anxiety was starting to talk to him. “Well, I want to do something that you would enjoy, but I’m not sure what that would be.”

Anxiety looked down at his feet. 

“You enjoy laser pointers, don’t you?” Logan prompted. 

Anxiety nodded. 

“We can do that, then!” Patton said, and went to get one of the laser pointers the shop kept in stock. 

“I,” Logan said, holding up a hand, “would like to observe. If you could put me on top of the washing machine, that would be ideal.”

Patton was surprised. He had thought that both of them hated being touched. Certainly they had never asked him to do something that would require him touching them. 

“Why the washing machine?” He asked. 

Logan nodded as if he had expected the question. “I would like to observe from the height of a human, and standing on the washing machine would allow me to do that.”

“Ok.” Patton wasn’t sure why Logan wanted to see it from a human’s perspective, but he didn’t mind, and was actually really excited to pick him up. 

He picked up Logan under the arms, like he would if he were picking up a toddler or a baby, and set him on the washer. But he was so soft and warm, and surprisingly light, that Patton had to resist the sudden urge to hug and cuddle him. 

Then Patton sat down to play with Anxiety. 

  * •^*^••



From his vantage point on the washer, Logan watched Patton pull out the laser pointer and shine it at the ground, flicking it here and there occasionally. 

He noted that, while sitting, Patton was not as tall as the washing machine, and that Virgil was not as tall as Patton. Then again, Virgil was rather short, even for a hybrid. 

Virgil’s tail flicked, and Logan knew that the only thing in his mind was the bright dot. Virgil had told him that that’s why he enjoyed it so much. That the human and cat instincts warring together were sometimes too much, and it was relieving to give in fully on occasion. 

Patton held the dot still for a bit longer, and Logan watched Virgil crouch slightly, ready to pounce on the dot. Which he did, the moment it moved. After the first pounce, Virgil was all play, jumping around and clawing and occasionally letting out grumbly purring noises. 

Then Patton let the dot rest on his own knee, and Logan tensed. He wasn’t sure if he should say something. Letting Virgil do the touching first would really help alleviate his anxiety, which Logan wanted. But if Patton were to go from there and try to pet him, it would make everything worse. 

While Logan was still unsure of what he should do, Virgil pounced on Patton’s knee, and Logan could see Patton flinch slightly, so Virgil must have had his claws out. Then Patton turned off the laser, but didn’t move to touch Virgil. 

It took a second of looking around for the laser for Virgil to realize it wasn’t there anymore, and Logan could see exactly when he realized that he had both of his hands on a human’s knee. Virgil flinched back, muttering an apology, and his tail wrapped around one of his legs. 

“It’s all right. Do you want to keep playing?” Patton said. 

Virgil shook his head. “I want Logan.”

Logan stood up and lifted his arms to make it easier for Patton to set him on the ground. Virgil latched onto him immediately. 

“It’s alright,” Logan said. “You did well.” He felt Virgil start to stiffen and tremble. “Breathe. It’s just Patton. He won’t hurt you.”

“I-I hurt him,” Virgil said. 

“No, hey, kiddo, I’m not hurt. I’m not upset at you.” Patton said, keeping his voice low and calm, which Logan appreciated. 

Virgil hid his face away from Patton’s. 

“I believe we are ready to return to our cage now,” Logan said. 

Patton nodded, and led them to the cage, shutting the door behind them. 

“There, is this better?” Logan asked. 

Virgil nodded, but didn’t let go. 

“You do know that Patton wouldn’t hurt you.”

Virgil shook his head. “Humans don’t like it when we’re loud, when we talk, but they really don’t like it if we hurt them.”

“Patton isn’t just a human,” Logan said, hardly believing that he was having to stand up for a human, but Virgil’s peace of mind was worth more. “We’ve known him for several months, and he hasn’t even touched us without our consent. He’s been more considerate of us than any human I’ve ever known.”

“That doesn’t mean that he can’t get mad.” Virgil said stubbornly. 

“Perhaps it would be better if you explained to me what it is that has you worried. Clearly you’ve had some kind of experience with this.”

  * •^*^••



Virgil had been seven, well within the ideal age range for selling hybrids. He was young, and still had many kitten instincts, but he was old enough to have learned manners and to be able to read just a little. 

He was bought by a woman, and forced away the tremendous nerves he was feeling. He leaned into her touch when she petted him, and did everything she asked, hoping that if he kept acting like he wasn’t scared, the fear would eventually go away. 

“You’re just a darling!” she exclaimed. “Dee is going to love you!”

“Who’s Dee?” Virgil asked. 

“He’s a friend of mine,” the woman answered. “You’re going to be his birthday present.”

The birthday party was… so much. There were so many people, and they all wanted to pet him. It was loud, and Virgil was passed from one set of hands to another, not all of them soft and comforting. And it was so long! It was hours and hours before Virgil found himself in a strange man’s arms, and the rest of the house empty of people. 

Virgil was exhausted. He just slumped in the man’s arms and closed his eyes. 

He woke up the next morning in a human sized bed, with the man sleeping next to him. The man had a red, bumpy something on half of his face. What was it?

Virgil ever so gently touched the edge of it. It felt strange. The man shifted in his sleep. After a few seconds, to make sure he wasn’t waking up, Virgil reached out again. The man grumbled, and a heavy hand pushed Virgil away. 

Virgil waited a while, but there was nothing to do, and the floor was too far away for him to reach. 

Eventually he was drawn back to the man’s face. This time the arm caught him and pushed him to the edge of the bed. Virgil screamed, and gripped onto the hand with everything he had. 

The man jumped awake. “Ow! You little—!” He shook his hand hard enough that Virgil fell to the floor. 

Virgil rubbed his shoulder, which had hit the floor the hardest, and really hurt. He blinked back sudden tears, all his forgotten fears flooding back. 

“You cut me!” The man exploded, shoving his wrist in Virgil’s face. It did indeed have marks from his claws, some of them welling up with blood. 

“I’m sorry,” Virgil said. 

The man snatched him up and held him in front of his angry face. “You will  _ never _ do that again. Is that clear?”

Virgil cringed back and nodded. 

The man dropped him on the bed, ignoring his yelp, and left the room. 

He came back half an hour later, with small bandaids on his wrist. He had showered and gotten dressed, and both looked and smelled different. 

He smiled down at Virgil. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad anymore. Come here.”

When Virgil hesitated he picked him up and sat him in his lap. “I need to give you a name now, don’t I?”

“I have a name,” Virgil protested weakly. 

“No. Pets change names when they change owners.”

Virgil wanted to say something, but didn’t know what. And then the man started rubbing behind his ears and Virgil purred. Maybe it would be fine. He just had to be careful not to make him mad again. 

The man didn’t decide on a name before he had to leave for work, and left Virgil alone in the house. 

After being bored a while, Virgil explored the house, and  _ may  _ have made a bit of a mess. And  _ maybe  _ one time he had dropped something, and it broke. 

When the man came back, Virgil ran to meet him. The house had been so lonely, and got creepy after all day with no one. But the instant he saw the man’s face he shrunk back. He was  **mad.**

  * \- -



It was a month before Dee’s friend asked after the kitten hybrid she had gifted him, but once she learned what had happened, she called the police. 

  * •^*^••



“I can’t risk making Patton mad,” Virgil finished in a whisper. 

Logan gripped Virgil tight. “Virgil, I swear, if he ever does, I won’t let him hurt you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? If anyone has any headcanons or theories I’d love to hear about them! I may neither confirm nor deny them, especially if they get real close to what I have planned, but I’d still love to talk with any of you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Four, yay!!! Only one more!

  * •^*^••



**Chapter Four**

  * •^*^••



  
  


“We’ve had them for years, Patton. They’ve never been bought, and they’ve driven off several customers. They can’t stay any longer.”

“But they don’t mean to do anything wrong!” Patton protested. 

“They don’t  _ mean  _ to do anything. They’re just animals.”

Patton felt like that was just wrong. But he didn’t have anything to say that hadn’t already been said, and argued, and he knew that in the eyes of the world, his manager was right. 

She sighed. “I’ll give it until Friday, but if they can’t be sold I’m getting rid of them.”

Patton nodded. 

  * •^*^••



Virgil was panicking. Logan held his hands and tried to get him to breathe. “It’ll be alright, Virgil.”

“No!” Virgil said. “They’re— they want to kill us! They— Logan, I’m scared.”

“I know. I know you are. It’s not decided yet. Breathe for me, ok, Virgil?”

Virgil tried, but he choked on his breath. 

Logan had never seen him quite this upset, and it scared him. Virgil always wanted to be held close, but now he could barely stand his hands being held. And he was crying. Logan had never seen Virgil cry. No matter how scared he had been, he hadn’t cried. 

“It’ll be alright. I promise, Virgil. Try one more time, please. Deep breath.”

“Y-you can’t promise that!”

“I am anyway. Breath with me.” Logan put Virgil’s hand on his chest, purposely placing it on the side where his heart was not. Virgil feeling how fast his own heart was racing wouldn’t help anything. 

  * •^*^••



“It’s obvious, Pat! We have to take them!” Roman said. 

“But your apartment doesn’t allow pets, and I’m not sure Thomas is going to want two of them in our house.”

“You certainly won’t know if you don’t ask,” Roman replied. “I’ll call him for you.”

Before Patton could protest, Roman had grabbed his phone and called Thomas. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, Thomas! This is Roman, Patton and I have a request.”

“Ok? What is it?”

“Would you be ok with it if Patton brought home two hybrids?”

“Huh? This is out of nowhere. Would he be taking care of them? Can I just talk to Patton?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll put you on speaker.”

Roman clicked the button and held out the phone between him and Patton. 

“Hi, Thomas,” Patton said. 

“Hi. So what’s this about hybrids?”

“Well, the pet shop I work at doesn’t want to keep them anymore, but no one wants to buy them. I’m worried that they’ll… they’ll get put down or something.”

“And you’d rather keep them in our house?”

“Mhmm.”

“Well, if you mostly take care of them I’m willing to help. I don’t know much about hybrids, but I’m guessing you do.”

“Really? Thank you, Thomas!”

“You’re the best,” Roman chimed in. 

  * •^*^••



It was Friday. Logan knew that today was the last day. Virgil was clinging to him and shaking, and Logan hoped that it was covering up how much he himself was shaking. 

As was usual, they didn’t receive more than a passing glance from the customers. Even without the warning printed on the outside of their cage, just their placement let the customers know that they were unwanted. 

Logan had never wanted to be bought, but today, every passing glance set his heart racing. Even if they were a horrible human, it would be better than being killed. 

But then, seemingly much faster than usual, the day was over, and the manager left. It was only Patton left, and that hurt more than anything else. That Patton, who he had begun to even trust, was going to be the one to do it. 

When Patton opened the cage, Logan retreated to the corner with Virgil. 

Patton’s face was full of concern. “What’s the matter?”

“W-hat do you think?!” Logan said angrily, hating how his voice stuttered on the way out. 

“I don’t know. Well, I do have something that will help you feel better, let me just grab the carrier.”

Patton got a carrier and came back, smiling. “Come on, hop in.”

Virgil turned to face Patton, an uncharacteristic anger on his face. “If you’re going to kill us the least you could do is stop pretending it’ll be a good thing.”

Patton reeled back as if Virgil had bitten him. Logan could see the wheels turning in his head. “Oh, I, didn’t think you heard us. Or at least that you didn’t understand—“

“We’re not idiots just because we’re hybrids,” Logan couldn’t help but interject. It was his last night anyway, might as well not worry about being polite. 

“Well, I’m sorry, I would have told you two sooner if I knew you’d be this scared. I’m not going to kill you. I’m taking you home with me.” Patton’s eyes welled up with tears. 

The shock and relief was so great that Logan’s legs gave out, and he sank to the floor of the cage. 

“Are you alright?” Patton said, leaning in close. 

Logan nodded, not trusting his voice. 

Virgil knelt in front of Logan and cupped his head in his hands, guiding it to rest on his chest. Logan felt Virgil’s shirt dampen beneath him, and the sudden knowledge that he was crying did nothing to help him stop. There was a small part of him that was incensed at his showing such weakness at all, much less in front of a human, but the much larger part just wanted to accept the comfort Virgil was offering and cry. 

Patton waited patiently until they could go on their own into the carrier, but Logan saw that his face was also tear stained. 

  * •^*^••



“Isn’t he usually home before now?” Roman asked, pacing impatiently. 

“No, he gets home pretty late most days,” Thomas said, sitting at the table and typing something out on his laptop. “So what’s so special about these hybrids that you had to come all the way over here to see them?”

“They’re… the term is ‘failures’, but that just sounds awful. Logan didn’t get most of the cat instincts somehow, and the other one won’t give us his name, but he got too many instincts, especially the prey ones.”

“Cats aren’t prey animals,” Thomas said, frowning in confusion. 

“They are in some cases. Humans in particular are threatening to cats.”

Thomas hmmed in understanding, and went back to his typing. 

“I’m worried though, because I think they both may have been abused. Definitely Anxiety has been.”

“Anxiety?”

“Yeah, since we don’t know his name, he said we could call him Anxiety. But he’s definitely afraid of humans. You can’t touch him.” Roman said this last pointedly at Thomas. 

Thomas held his hands up. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine.”

Roman continued saying his thoughts out loud. “I think that if we’re careful, and try to encourage his predatory instincts, that he might get better and stop being so scared.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Thomas said, engrossed again in his computer screen. 

“What are you even doing?” Roman asked. 

“Work.” Thomas said, not turning to look at Roman. 

Roman stood behind him to look over his shoulder. He was editing a video. It looked like he was making subtitles for it. 

The doorbell rang, and Roman raced to the door. 

Patton was standing outside, holding a large carrier. 

“You’re here!” Roman said, trying to be quieter for the sake of the hybrids. Then he noticed the tear tracks on Patton’s face. “What happened?”

Patton came inside and set down the carrier. “They heard me talking to the manager the other day and…” it took him a second, and another tear, to be able to continue. “They thought that…” 

Roman wrapped an arm around Patton’s shoulders, “It’s alright. They’re safe now.”

Patton nodded. He moved the carrier into the living room in the corner where it wouldn’t be in the way, and then opened the door. 

“You guys can come out now. This is my house, and I share it with Thomas.” Patton motioned towards Thomas, who glanced up and waved. “And now it’s your house too.”

Roman peered into the carrier. Their usual positions seemed to be reversed, with Anxiety being the one holding Logan. Anxiety shook his head no. 

Patton was instantly all concern. “It’s alright, you can come out.”

“Let’s let them have a little time to adjust, Pat,” Roman suggested. 

Patton wilted slightly. “Alright.”

  * •^*^••



It took Logan an embarrassingly long time to recover himself. Finally, though, he released Virgil and looked around. They must have arrived at Patton’s apartment. The carrier door was open, and in the distance he could see three blurs that were probably sitting at a table. They were talking, but softly, and he couldn’t tell what they were saying. One was surely Patton, and it was likely that the other two were Roman and Thomas. 

“Are you alright?” Virgil whispered. 

“I am now, yes. Thank you.”

Virgil gave him a rather wan smile. 

“I presume that we are allowed out?” Logan said. 

Virgil nodded. 

Logan looked closer at Virgil. He was repressing his panic. Logan wasn’t sure when it would hit, but he didn’t want to be away from Virgil when it did. 

“Would you like to come out with me?” Logan asked. 

Virgil shook his head. 

Logan nodded. “That’s fine. But if you need me I want you to call me.”

Virgil nodded. 

Logan stepped out of the carrier, noting that the floor was carpeted. A movement caught his eye. One of the humans, probably watching him. He couldn’t tell which one from this distance. Although it wasn’t Patton, Patton was still wearing the light blue uniform shirt from the pet shop. 

Logan turned to look at the room he was in. It was a living room, and the carrier was in one corner. There was a couch, a recliner, a coffee table, and a tv in the room. At the opposite end from him, the living room was open to a dining room, where the humans were sitting at the table. On his end of the room were two large glass doors. Logan looked out through them to see a balcony, and beyond that a rather blurry view of the city. So, despite Patton calling it a house, they were in an apartment. One that Logan believed was shared with another human named Thomas. 

After wandering around the room a few minutes, Logan decided to talk to the humans. He walked up to the table, and they all turned to stare at him. 

“Would you put me up on the chair?” He asked Patton. If he really tried, he could have gotten onto the chair himself, but he didn’t want to spend the next minute awkwardly scrambling while they stared at him. 

Patton picked him up and set him on the chair. 

“Thank you. I wished to express my gratitude to you and Thomas for… taking us in.”

“Aww, you’re welcome,” Patton said. “And this is Thomas. Thomas, this is Logan.”

Logan reached out his hand, and after an awkward few seconds, Thomas shook it. 

“It’s… nice to meet you?” Thomas said, his voice betraying that he was very unsure of himself, at least in the current situation. 

“It is nice to meet you as well, Thomas.” Logan cleared his throat, trying to bring up the confidence he was trying to portray. “I would like to know what to expect of this arrangement. What are the rules, so to say.”

“Oh, well there aren’t really any rules?” Patton said, confused. 

“I’m sure there are. You wouldn’t appreciate if we broke your personal belongings. Likely, you also wouldn’t approve if we spoke loudly late at night.”

“I mean, no, but those aren’t really rules, they’re just being polite and considerate.”

Logan pursed his lips slightly. “That may be so. I also want to know what it is you expect us to do. Most owners I’ve had expected me to consent to being petted and to exemplify other cat-like behaviors.”

“I didn’t know you had other owners,” Patton said. 

Logan was annoyed at the subject change. “They did not last long. As I said, I would like to know what to expect.”

“Do you enjoy being petted?” Thomas asked. 

“There are… circumstances under which I can enjoy it, but not normally, no.”

“Then we won’t pet you unless you say so,” Patton said, with a determined finality to his tone. 

Logan blinked. Even though Patton had refrained from touching them while in the pet shop, he had assumed, since Patton essentially owned them, that the situation had changed. “Thank you.”

“Is there anything else?” Thomas asked. 

Logan felt rather sheepish. He had acted so standoffishly, and they had been willing to be respectful, and even considerate, the whole time. “I had also wanted to know how we were going to be housed.”

“We were just talking about that a bit ago,” Patton said. “For the moment, you’ll stay in the carrier in the living room, but as soon as I can, I'll buy a proper bed for the two of you, and put it in my room.”

“And if you ever decide that you would rather be separate, which we didn’t think you would, but if you did, one of you could move to my room or the living room.” Thomas added. 

Logan nodded. “Thank you. That will be… satisfactory.”

Patton smiled, and Roman beamed, as if he knew something no one else did. 

Roman turned in his chair to face the living room, and Logan stiffened, but Roman made no move to stand up and move that way. 

“What about you, kiddo? Was there anything you were expecting?” Patton said, drawing his attention. 

“I— the things I was expecting were not… not good.”

Patton looked like some of the air had been deflated from him. “Oh. I’m not—I’m not like that.”

Logan looked away. “Even with as long as I’ve known you, I don’t know that. As V—Anxiety pointed out, we’ve never seen you angry.”

Patton deflated even more. Then he straightened. “Then I’m going to prove it. I’m going to prove you can trust me.” 

A sound close to a meow caught their attention, and they turned to see that Roman had lured Virgil out of the carrier with the laser pointer. Virgil was chasing the dot all the way across the room, and even Logan had to smile at that. They rarely got to actually exercise, so it was surprisingly enjoyable to watch Virgil run. 

Then the dot jumped up onto the coffee table, and Virgil leaped to follow it, but not high enough, and gripped at the table, sliding back, and leaving long claw marks along the top and edge of the table. He jumped up immediately, but then saw the marks. Logan couldn’t see his face clearly, but from the way his body stiffened he knew he had to get over there. As soon as possible. 

Logan jumped down from the chair to hear a keening sob from Virgil. He ran as fast as he could, but humans were larger and faster. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Virgil was crying, huddled on the ground. 

Logan knelt beside him, and tried to get his attention, but Virgil was unresponsive, other than to keep crying apologies. 

“What’s wrong?!” Patton asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. 

For a moment, Logan didn’t know. Then he realized. “It’s the table. He thinks that you’ll be mad at him.”

“No! No, I’m not mad, kiddo. It’s ok. I’m not mad.” Patton’s hands were hovering, clearly wanting to hold and comfort Virgil, but remembering that they had asked him not to. 

“B-but I— I broke the—the table!” Virgil said, and now he was hyperventilating as well. 

“Hey, can you breathe for me?” Logan said, setting his hands on Virgil’s arms. “Please, breathe for me.” He tapped out the counts on Virgil’s arm, since Virgil wouldn’t look up. 

Virgil tried to breathe more slowly, but it was painfully slow progress. 

“I’m not mad, kiddo,” Patton said. “The table will be fine. It’s ok. I’m not mad, and I won’t hurt you.”

“W-hy not?” Virgil said, and if Logan had ever doubted he had a heart, he knew now by the crack he felt run through it. 

“Oh, kiddo,” Patton said, his voice sounding like his heart had broken as well. “I care about you so much more than I care about that table. I’d get rid of the whole thing right now if it could make you feel better.”

Virgil finally looked up, and Logan gathered him in a hug. Logan was shaken. He knew the story Virgil had told him, but Virgil hadn’t actually said what had happened, just that it was bad enough the lady called the police. But whatever it was, Virgil was more upset than he had been when he thought that they were going to be killed. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Logan turned to see that Roman had spoken, and that his tanned face was now pale. 

“It’s my fault. I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new table, Patton, but… I’m more sorry to you, Anxiety.”

Virgil, his breathing now much more under control, looked up at the humans surrounding them, all of them just as upset, but not upset at either of them. 

“It’s—mynameisVirgil,” he said in a rush, and ducked his head back into Logan’s shoulder. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I’d love to know!
> 
> (Seriously, though, AO3 has addicted me to comments, I crave them unceasingly)


	5. Final Chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last one! And I think it’s the longest chapter too. Thank you to everyone who read all the way through!

  * •^*^••



**Chapter Five**

  * •^*^••



It had been a week since Patton had brought the hybrids into the apartment. Patton had done a lot of searching, but he just didn’t know where to look, and he hadn’t found any proper bed for them that was anywhere near his budget. 

“No, of course I’ll help.” Thomas said. “I think your problem is going to be that you’re letting them know you’re looking for a hybrid bed.”

Patton frowned. “How else am I going to find one?”

“I’ll find one for you. Just, hybrids are normally super expensive, if you drop that word in your searches, it’s like searching for wedding stuff, they’ll always charge you more.”

“Oh. Ok. So how should I do it then?”

Thomas started searching, and soon found one that looked alright for $50. 

“That’s a dog bed,” Patton protested. 

Thomas shrugged. “It’s better than the carrier.”

“They aren’t just animals, though. I don’t want to treat them that way.”

“I get what you mean, but they’re sleeping on the floor of a hard plastic carrier right now, and before that they were on the floor of a cage, probably for years,” Thomas noticed Patton getting a downright sad look in his eyes. “They’ll like it. And it’s not like they’re going to be offended that it has dog in the name if you don’t change the way you’re treating them.”

Patton frowned. “I guess.”

“Alright. Is fifty good?”

“Wait, it only costs $50?!”

“Yeah… what kinds of prices were you seeing?”

“200 or more.”

Thomas grimaced. “Yep. We’re getting this one.” 

“Can you help me get them clothes too?”

  * •^*^••



They were usually left in the house with Thomas, since he worked from home, while Patton went to work. But once a week, usually Thursday, Thomas went out to work. Virgil didn’t know exactly what he did, but he suspected that Logan knew, since Logan watched over his shoulder and talked to him a lot. 

But today, Roman came over. He only ever came after lunchtime, could only stay a few hours, and only came occasionally, but Virgil enjoyed when he did.

“Hey, Virgil~” Roman said, walking into Patton’s bedroom. 

Virgil was underneath the bed, and ducked behind a pile of stuff. 

“I’ve got something to play with,” Roman said. 

He didn’t come searching for Virgil, which Virgil appreciated more than almost anything, just sat down cross legged near Virgil and Logan’s bed. He had something odd in his hand. It was a small stick, and at the end was a string, and on the end of the string was a big fluffy feather. 

Virgil cocked his head to the side, watching as Roman made the feather bounce around and flutter through the air. He crept forward, slowly, until he was just at the edge of the bed, and Roman hadn’t spotted him yet. He crouched down, biting his lip as he concentrated, then leapt out, catching the feather and pulling the whole thing out of Roman’s hand.

Roman jumped, which was very satisfying to Virgil, and then he laughed. He had a nice laugh. “You got me that time, kitten. Wanna go again?” Roman seemed to like calling Virgil kitten. Virgil wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that.

Virgil let go of the feather, and Roman picked up the stick, dangling the feather into Virgil’s face. Virgil grabbed at it, but just as quickly Roman twitched it out of his reach. Oh, now it was on!

Soon Roman had to stand up, to be able to move quickly enough to keep the feather away from Virgil. Virgil considered that a win. For a while, the feather was the only thing on his mind. As he got tired, which happened way more quickly than he would have guessed two weeks ago, Roman sat back down, and soon Virgil was laying on his back on the floor next to Roman, idly batting at the feather, which never bounced up too high without coming back a second later. 

“Hey, Virgil,” Roman said, quietly enough not to break the happy mood Virgil was in.

“Hmm?”

“Do you mind if I pet you?”

Virgil frowned slightly, too tired to properly tense up. He felt… safe. “If I don’t like it, will you stop?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“Then ok,” Virgil’s heart started to beat faster. What if this was the wrong decision? What if it hurt? What if Roman just always petted him after this, whenever? He worried that he was opening the door to a lot of harsh touches as well as a few kind ones.

He very pointedly did not watch Roman, as he felt a hand brush past his shoulder. He caught the scent of Roman’s hand as it passed so close to his face. Then something touched his hair, so lightly he would have thought it was the feather, except he could see the feather, set down on the ground. The something, which was most likely Roman’s hand, touched the tip of one of his ears, and he flicked the ear away. Then the fingers touched down on the top of his head, rubbing gently in small circles. And it felt good.

Virgil leaned into the hand on his head, and finally looked at Roman. Roman was watching him with a soft smile, his eyes all crinkled up. Virgil rolled onto his side, hiding his smile in Roman’s leg. But, when Roman didn’t stop, and was just as gentle and kind as Virgil could remember his early memories of his mother being, he didn’t try to hide the purr that rumbled out of his chest. 

  * •^*^••



“Patton!” Roman nearly yelled into the phone. “Guess what?!”

“Goodness. What is it?”

“Virgil let me pet him!!!”

“What?!?”

“He let me pet him!”

“How??”

“I was playing with him, and he got all tired, and then I asked him if I could. Patton,  _ he fell asleep while I was petting him!  _ And he purred at me!”

“No!”

“Yes! It was the sweetest, cutest thing in the whole world!”

“Oh!!! Now I’m upset I missed it!”

Roman unlocked his door and opened it. “I mean, I kind of feel bad for you, but not really.”

“Do you think he’d let me pet him?”

“It’s possible, but I’d wait a day first, and then if you get him tired out and you ask.”

“But he doesn’t get tired out with me. He always wants to be done before that.”

“I guess he just likes me better,” Roman said, more than a little proud. “Then I think you should just be yourself, but ask if you can pet him. If he says no, you can just wait and ask again later. I do think he trusts you.”

“You really think so?” Patton said hopefully. “He just always seems so scared, and I don’t want to push him and make him more scared.”

“Gurl, who likes you better?” Remy said, sprawled on the couch.

Roman ignored him for the moment. “I think you’ll be fine, Patton. If you’re worried about pushing him, I think he’ll understand that and appreciate it.”

“Thank you-- oh, I’ve got to get back to work. Talk to you when I get home!”

“Yeah, sorry to bug you at work. Bye!”

Patton hung up and Roman stuck the phone in his pocket. 

“So who likes you better? I want all the tea, sis.” 

Roman sat down on the couch. “It was Virgil. He let me pet him today!”

“Mmm. I told you it’d work. And wasn’t I right?”

“Yes, Remy, you were right. Thank you.” 

“Gurl, I’m always right. So what do I get?”

“What do you mean what do you get?”

Remy pouted. “My idea makes your day, heck, your week, and this is how you treat me? I’m not sticking around for this. No, ma’am.” Remy stood and prepared to leave, clearly giving Roman enough time to change his mind and give him something, which Roman did.

“No~, come back. I’ll pet you too.”

Remy raised an eyebrow, and tipped his head to look at Roman incredulously over his sunglasses. 

“Fine, I’ll pet you now, and by this evening I will figure out a more fitting reward.”

“That’s better.” Remy came and sat in Roman’s lap.

Roman rubbed his hand over Remy’s back, scratching at the lower end just above where the tail was. Remy arched his back and purred. 

“How’s that?” Roman asked.

“Nnn, almost makes up for leaving me alone all day.”

“Weren’t you at the shelter today?”

“Yes, and?”

“That’s not alone.”

“Gurl, you still left me. Where I was doesn’t matter.”

Roman chuckled. “So how was it?”

“Joan brought in a new one today. A puppy hybrid. Did  _ not  _ like me.”

“Are you alright?”

“If I wasn’t, believe me, you’d know.”

“I can believe that. How’s Talyn doing?”

“That one’s stuck tight to Joan. They’ll be fine. Ok, move up now.”

Roman moved to scratch Remy’s upper back and shoulders. “So, the trial period is over soon. Do you know if they want you to keep coming?”

“If they don’t want me, they definitely aren’t worth me.”

“Do you want to keep going?”

“What, worried I’ll abandon you?” Remy laughed. “Talk about role reversal.”

“Well?”

When he spoke next, Remy’s voice had lost a good bit of the accent. “I think I do.” Then all his attitude came back in an instant. “Where else am I going to use all this amazing?”

“You know, you really are the best I’ve ever seen at helping hybrids,” Roman said, snaking his hand up into Remy’s hair. 

“I better be. It’d be a waste to be a hybrid if I couldn’t understand them.”

  * •^*^••



“I’m going to be home today, so is there anything you two want to do?” Patton asked, looking hopefully at the two hybrids. 

“Thomas has offered to let me use his computer, so I will be doing that today.” Logan replied. 

Patton turned to Virgil, who shifted awkwardly at having the decision thrust upon him. 

“I didn’t… have anything in particular…”

“I’ll tell you what, Kiddo. I bet you’ve never made cookies, have you?”

Virgil shook his head. 

“Well, do you wanna come make some with me?”

“I don’t know how.”

“That’s alright, I’ll teach you. Sound good?”

Virgil glanced at Logan, who just raised an eyebrow, leaving the decision up to him. Virgil nodded. 

Patton beamed down at him. “Let’s head for the kitchen, and I’ll see what I can do about an apron for you.”

In the end, the best apron they could come up with was a dish towel and some tape. But Virgil didn’t seem to mind. 

“Now, I’ll need you up on the counter, and you’ll have to wash your hands.” Patton said. “Can I pick you up, or would you rather if we find you another way up?”

Virgil bit his lip for a second. “You can pick me up.”

Patton couldn’t hide the joy that leaped onto his face. He picked Virgil up and set him straight on the counter, though he didn’t miss how stiff Virgil was. Virgil was able to turn on the water and wash his hands by himself. 

Patton started getting out ingredients. He was thinking that they wanted something that would take a while, and be especially fun. Finally he decided on sugar cookies, but he would get out the cookie cutters, and they could make colored icings, and decorate the cookies. And maybe he even had some sprinkles left! 

He put the sugar in a bowl next to Virgil, and gave him a fork. Then he softened the butter in the microwave. 

“Alright, so you take the fork, and mash the butter with it. Yes, like that.”

Virgil tried doing it kneeling on the counter, but then he sat down and put the bowl in his lap, and from that position creamed away at the butter and sugar. 

Patton finished getting out ingredients, and started making the frosting, since he suspected it would be too stiff for Virgil to stir. 

“Is this good?” Virgil asked. 

Patton checked the bowl. “Yes, that’s great! Wait just a minute.” He grabbed a clean fork, and got just a tiny bit of the creamed butter and sugar on the end. “You can still taste it at this point. After we add the eggs you aren’t supposed to eat any.” He offered the fork to Virgil. 

Virgil put it in his mouth, and Patton smiled at the way his eyes lit up. “It tastes so good…”

Patton nodded. “It does, doesn’t it?” 

Patton cracked some eggs into the bowl. “Now you stir it again. Mix it all together.”

Patton mixed together the dry ingredients, and poured some vanilla extract, and just a few drops of almond extract, into Virgil’s bowl. 

“Alright, why don’t you roll up your sleeves, the next bit needs your hands.”

Patton added the dry ingredients to the wet. “Alright, now mix these together. Once it’s ready, it’ll make one solid ball. If it gets too stiff for you, let me know and I’ll help.”

Patton was almost done with the white icing, and split it into four different bowls, saving behind some to stay white. 

“Patton?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Is this alright?”

Patton looked, and it was well done. Maybe he had underestimated how strong Virgil was. “Well done, Virgil! It’s just fine.” 

Patton set aside the bowl and floured the counter. He pulled out a smooth cup, since he didn’t have a rolling pin, and used it to roll out the dough. 

“Ok, I’m going to put this parchment paper on this pan, and you can pick one of these cookie cutters. Alright. Now just press it into the dough like this. Great! Then pick it up. Now we keep going until we’ve covered the whole dough. And if you’ll help peel up the dough in between the shapes. Your little hands are better for this than mine.”

Patton balled up the dough scraps and set them back in the bowl while he and Virgil transferred the cookies to the pan and put it in the oven. 

“It should take ten minutes, and then we can put the rest of these on it, and then we’ll roll out the dough and do it all over again!”

Virgil smiled. “This is… it's really fun, Patton. Thanks for inviting me.”

Patton covered his mouth to muffle the sound of his squeal, and also to give his hands something to do other than hug Virgil. “Oh, you’re so welcome, Virgil!”

Virgil ducked his head away, but Patton was pretty sure that it was to hide a smile. 

Patton got out the food colorings. “So, what colors do we want?”

Virgil stood up to look over to the other counter. “Can I come over there to see?” 

“Sure, can I pick you up?”

Virgil nodded, and held his arms out. Patton had to bite back another squeal as he moved Virgil to the opposite counter. 

Virgil looked at the colors. He looked slightly disappointed, but then turned the box around and saw the color mixing chart. “Can we make purple?” He asked, pointing to the purple on the chart. 

“Sure thing, kiddo!”

Patton ended up mixing the frostings, since Virgil couldn’t move the spoons very easily, and neither of them wanted him to stain his hands by using them to mix. 

Patton pulled out the cookies when they were done, and he and Virgil put a new batch in the oven shortly after, the hot cookies cooling on the stove, since they were out of counter space. 

Soon all the cookies were ready, and they could decorate them. 

Patton put the icing into sandwich baggies, and cut small holes in the corners. He put in less than he usually would, but it was still large and difficult for Virgil to handle. He still tried his best to decorate the cookies. 

They had a purple, a red, a dark blue, a pink, and the white. 

Virgil mixed a little of the blue and white to make a paler blue, and put it on a heart shaped cookie. Then he took the purple and wrote Pat on the cookie. It was harder than ever to resist scooping him up for a hug. Virgil also took a star cookie and colored it dark blue, putting a purple Lo on it. The purple didn’t show up much against the blue, but it was fine. He also took a square one and put the pink on it, and made a very uneven star in the middle with the white. 

“What’s that one?” Patton asked. 

“It’s for Thomas.”

“Oh! Like his shirt?”

Virgil smiled and nodded, moving the cookie over with the done ones. 

It was almost lunchtime when they finished, and Patton made some quick sandwiches. 

Both Logan and Thomas were very pleased to receive cookies, and each of them had just one after eating their sandwiches. 

The rest of them were set aside to finish drying. 

Patton sat down on the couch. “I’m a bit tired now, kiddo.”

Virgil struggled his way up onto the couch. He looked tired too. Suddenly Roman’s advice popped into Patton’s head. 

“You can sit with me, Virgil,” Patton said cheerfully, patting his lap. 

Virgil eyed his lap, and looked up to his face. Then he looked back down, and his eyebrows furrowed. He looked back up, and down again, and then took a step forward. He laid down half on Patton’s lap, his face turned in and hidden in Patton’s stomach. He was stiff again, and his shoulders were hunched up. 

Patton didn’t want to make him even more uncomfortable, but, maybe, maybe he’d feel more comfortable? At least Patton could ask. If Virgil said no, Patton would get up to… check on the cookies or something. Something so Virgil wouldn’t have to lay there feeling uncomfortable. So Virgil could get up while Patton was gone. 

“Virgil? Would you, would you mind if I touched you?”

Patton heard a muffled “it’s fine.” from the direction of his stomach. 

He set his hand gently on Virgil’s hair, running it down his back and along as much of his tail as he could without moving. Virgil didn’t say stop, or try to move away, or stiffen up more, so was it alright? Patton did it again, and Virgil started to loosen up a bit. After a few times, Virgil flicked his tail up so that Patton could reach all of it. Patton kept petting Virgil, and was rewarded by Virgil slowly melting into him. 

Then Patton scratched lightly at Virgil’s back. Virgil shivered, and then arched his back slightly, purring. 

It was like everything Patton had ever wanted. 

  * •^*^••



“So, I know you said a while ago that you liked being petted, but only sometimes, in certain circumstances.” Thomas said. 

Logan nodded, his eyes still trained on the computer screen. 

“What are those circumstances?”

“Ideally, I would be relaxed, and doing an activity which was utilizing my mind, but not my body. The person doing the petting would have to be someone I trusted, and they would have to obtain my consent. I would not be averse to it at the moment.”

“Oh, ok—- wait, really? Right now?”

Logan turned to look at Thomas. He had hoped that when it came down to it, it wouldn’t have to be a big deal. “I would not be averse to it. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

Logan turned back to the computer, and scrolled down the page, intending to finish reading the online book before Thomas wanted his computer back. Moments later there was a hand in his hair. 

He didn’t have nearly the pleasure in being touched that Virgil did, but he did have enough of whatever gene controlled his nerve endings to find the experience enjoyable. He leaned slightly forward, actively relaxing his shoulders, to signify his appreciation to Thomas. 

When Thomas stopped, Logan turned to look. Thomas seemed pleased, so perhaps the experience had been mutually beneficial. Thomas gave him a smile, and continued rubbing his hand in his hair. 

It had only been a little more than two weeks. With his previous owners, Logan was usually either miserable or on his way back to the pet shop by this time. He was surprised to realize that he wanted to stay. Whether it was this house or another, he wanted to stay with Thomas and Patton. And it seemed that Virgil felt the same. 

Thomas and Patton had provided everything that they knew was needed. And so, perhaps, they would provide something that was wanted. Should he offer something in return? Was there anything he could offer in return? 

“Thomas?”

“Yeah?”

“I-“ Logan found himself more nervous about this than he would have thought. “I have a request.”

Thomas set aside his phone. “What is it?”

“I have myopia.”

“Myopia?”

“I’m nearsighted. I would like glasses.” Suddenly Logan started backpedaling, not wanting to seem greedy or grasping, and not wanting Thomas to think him ungrateful of the wonderful situation he was in. “I understand that they’re expensive, especially to get them in my size, and I’m aware that it is not a necessity, and-“

“Logan.” Thomas interrupted. “Relax a little, it’s ok.”

Logan realized that he was breathing more quickly than usual, and becoming agitated, and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I am calm. Thank you.”

“Now, you would like glasses?”

“Yes. I would.”

“Then I will look into getting you an appointment with an eye doctor.”

Now, Logan knew that Thomas was kind. More than most people he had come into contact with. But he had been told his whole life that glasses were unnecessary. Especially for him, who could see what he needed to without them, and was a pet anyway. It was just a lot to have his request so readily accepted. And he knew that Thomas had only promised an appointment, but, that meant that he intended to get Logan the proper glasses. 

It was just a lot. His chest began to hurt, and Logan wasn’t sure why. 

“Logan? Are you ok?”

Logan nodded. 

“Can I hug you?”

Logan nodded again, and Thomas lifted him into a hug.

Hugging a human was vastly different than hugging another hybrid. Or perhaps he should be more accurate and say that hugging Thomas was different from hugging Virgil, since he couldn’t remember actually hugging any other humans. Thomas was both larger and warmer than Logan, and was easily supporting Logan’s weight in his arms. 

Whatever the pain in his chest was, the hugging seemed to soothe, rather than aggravate it. Logan found himself wishing that it wouldn’t end, no matter how illogical the sentiment was. 

  * •^*^••



  
  


This is the end of the original idea I had when I started writing, which was to write a hybrid story with Virgil and Logan where they didn’t get along with humans easily and had hard lives, but then Patton and Roman get them and take care of them with lots of fluff. Clearly, that idea has shifted slightly, and I’ve got loads of ideas for more! If, at the time of publishing I still fully intend to write the sequel, I will publish this postscript with the final chapter. 

So if you are a reader and are reading this, there’s more! Just maybe not quite yet. I may well give you a sneak peek if not much is written yet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I do have more. There’s a sequel called Easily Broken, and I have four chapters written so far. Probably I’ll go ahead and post chapter one of that next Friday. :)
> 
> If you subscribe to the series, you’ll be sure not to miss it!


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